OFF THE CUFF: All in The Family

BIZARRE -The upcoming election campaign, sprinkled with Cambio Democrático (CD) candidates facing corruption investigations got more bizarre on Friday, with the news that the party has postulated the wife and the eldest son of former President Ricardo Martinelli will seek seats in the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) during the elections on May 5. Martinelli resigned from Parlacen which he has described as “a den of thieves”, to avoid trial by Panama’s Supreme Court. Both new “candidates” are named in the Blue Apple probe, and the son is on bail in Miami awaiting an extradition hearing to face charges in money laundering and corruption cases. The Capo rests in El Renacer prison

MACHISMO still rules in Panama. With seven presidential candidates, four of them representing political parties, there is only one woman, Ana Matilde Gomez a feisty independent, who was Panama’s first woman Attorney General. None of the parties put a woman forward for the presidential race although over 50 percent of members are women and there is also a shortage of women running for deputy but there is one husband and wife duo for Deputy and alternate. The alternate is supposed to show up when the Deputy is too busy to attend debates.

The US Congress now has its largest ever of women, mostly Democrats fired up by their reaction to Trumpian rhetoric. In Panama 59.2% of the electoral roll are women but when it comes to supporting women

NEW CHALLENGE - Self-driving cars could cause severe traffic problems by cruising around the streets simply to avoid paying parking fees, a study has found. A newly published research paper by Adam Millard-Ball, an associate professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, says that it may be cheaper for autonomous vehicles to drive around while unoccupied rather than stopping. Chasing driverless cars would be another challenge for the cops standing at intersections who seem blind to light jumpers and texting drivers